Serendipity
by EmpatheticEmber
Summary: Good fortune is the only possible explanation. How else could I have accidentally moved in across the street from Dero Goi? How else could I have become good friends with my favorite band? Dear God, I love Germany..An OOMPH! fanfic. Small use of German.
1. Welcome to the Neighborhood

The doorbell chimed merrily for a second time as I slid down the hall and tripped over the rug just inside the living room. My momentum carried me, completely against my will, into a large pile of boxes and the top two crashed to the floor, scattering books and CDs. I ignored the mess, slammed into the front door, wrestled with the lock, and finally managed to yank the door open with a flourish. A woman with lovely brown hair stood on the stoop, looking shocked.

"Guten Tag," I greeted her breathlessly.

"Guten Tag," She returned with a bemused smile.

"Sorry about the wait," I continued in German.

"No problem. Though I must ask if you're quite alright. There was an awful lot of noise…"

"Oh fine, fine. Totally fine." I waved my hand as though that would make the mess behind me suddenly disappear. "Would you like to come in?"

"Yes. Thank you."

I stepped aside and the woman entered my rather disheveled house. Her blue eyes traveled to the CDs and books that were spread all over the floor. Noticing the direction of her gaze, I chuckled.

"Explains the noise, right?"

She laughed as well.

"Excuse me for putting this bluntly, but uh, who are you?"

"Oh! Sorry! My name is Valeria Gottlieb. I live just across the street. We saw the moving truck yesterday, so I thought that I'd bring this by today. I hope you like cake." Ms. Gottlieb flashed a set of perfect, white teeth and indicated a cake that I had somehow managed to not see in her hands before then.

"I love cake. What kind is it?" _Please say Schwarzwalderkirschtorte. _

"Schwarzwalderkirschtorte." _Score!_

"One of my favorite things about Germany is all the cakes," I confided. "Nusstorte, Sachertorte, Schwarzwalderkirschtorte; it's a wonder I haven't gained at least fifty pounds since getting here." Taking the cake from her, I walked it into the kitchen and returned to find Valeria gingerly fixing the rug that had sent me flying earlier. "I don't think I've introduced myself. Name's Kirsten." Grinning, I gave her my hand and we shook. _Ah, so it's Mrs. Gottlieb,_ I thought to myself when I felt her ring.

"Es freut mich Sie kennenzulernen," We said together, then laughed.

"So you're not from Germany? Where are you from?"  
"America. Born and raised. Love it here though. Don't think I'll ever leave."

"Well your German is excellent. I barely even notice any accent."  
"Thank you. I've been studying the language for ten years, and have lived here for six of those. Might have been easier to learn if I hadn't been dividing my attention between multiple languages."

Frau Gottlieb turned her head to the side slightly, a questioning look in her eyes.

"I speak six languages fluently and I'm working on the seventh."

"Wow. That's…really quite impressive."

"Vielen Dank."

"Would you like some help unpacking? I didn't just come over to give you the cake. My husband and I wanted to be sure that you got a proper welcome to the neighborhood. He's working, otherwise he'd be here." Frau Gottlieb's smile was really quite infectious.

"Er, well yes, actually. It's going to take ages by myself. But, I don't want to impose…"

"I'm glad to help."

"Alright. Well, we should probably start with this mess," I swung my hand at the knocked-over boxes. "Don't want the CDs getting scratched."

Valeria removed her jacket and laid it over a chair before plopping down upon the floor and starting to sort out the mess. Dropping down beside her, I picked up a Megaherz CD and fit it back into its case. We chatted quite pleasantly as we worked, discussing our tastes in music and books, as that was the obvious topic of conversation.

Frau Gottlieb picked up another disc and turned it over to see what case it belonged with. She seemed to blanch at the title.

"You know Oomph?"

"Know them? I love them. They've been my favorite band for years."

"Really? How interesting." There was an odd note to her voice as she spoke, but I shrugged it off.

We finally got all the books and discs back into the two boxes. As we carried them down the hall, I explained that as the house was a three-bedroom and I lived alone, I used one of the spares as a library. Valeria gasped when she walked into the room.

"You didn't bring all these books from America, did you?"

"Of course not," I tittered. "I've bought most of these since my arrival. One of the very first things that I bought in Germany was actually a German translation of the first Harry Potter book. I wanted to see how it compared to the original. Plus, it really was good practice, at that point."

We dropped the boxes onto the couch that I had in the room. It was a pull-out, in case I ever found myself with a house full of guests.

"Time to alphabetize. My favorite," I winked and she rolled her eyes.

Several hours later, we had managed to file away all of my absurdly large music and books collection. I offered to cook dinner, but Valeria had to get home to cook for her own family. Thanking her for all the help and for the cake, I waved goodbye and watched her walk across the street to her house with the elegant garden.


	2. Dinner with the Neighbors

It was only the next day when I saw Valeria again.

"How would you like to have dinner with my family and me?"

Her offer was a little surprising, I hadn't expected to meet her family quite so soon, but I gladly accepted.

An hour later, I was hovering in her living room, feeling a little out of place. Valeria was in the dining room, setting the table. She had refused to let me help her, despite all the help she had given me.

"You're our guest, don't be silly."

The front door opened and I heard a male voice ring out. Frau Gottlieb answered him, but I couldn't catch her words. A moment later, the young man I had heard came into the room. He had a strong jaw and ink black hair and looked to be about my own age. He immediately shook my hand and introduced himself as Mathias.

"Dinner's ready. And Mom says that Dad will be a bit late. He told us to go ahead and start without him." Mathias led the way to the dining room and took a seat. Sitting down across from him, I asked him what his father does.

Mathias hesitated. "I'm not supposed to say. Not sure why. Mom and Dad are being very mysterious about this whole dinner." My eyebrow raise without my telling it to, and he shrugged. "They'll probably explain everything when he gets here."

Valeria walked in carrying a casserole. An incredible fragrance followed in her wake. I was about to tell her that I couldn't wait to try it when the door opened again. The voice that carried in from the hall was…oddly familiar. It didn't take long to find out why the voice was familiar.

Herr Gottlieb's swagger was all too recognizable. When he walked in, my voice left me completely. His brown eyes landed on me and he smiled crookedly. My heart fluttered as I realized that my eyes weren't playing tricks on me. He really was Dero Goi. I considered trying to speak, but decided against it. No doubt whatever came out of my mouth would be complete gibberish. Some mangled mess of English, German, and utter fangirly nonsense. Dero sidled up to his place at the table and sat. Mathias burst out laughing. Everyone turned to look at him. He was wiping tears from his eyes as he finally managed to talk.

"No wonder you didn't want me to tell her, she already knows!" Personally, I didn't find it all that funny, but Mathias' laugh certainly was. It reminded me of the laugh that I knew his father was capable of doing. The laugh was silly, yet somehow evil. Amusing, to say the least.

Valeria spoke over her son's rampant laughter. "I almost told you yesterday, when I saw the CD. It very nearly slipped out. But, I thought it would be best to run it by Dero first. It was his idea to invite you over to dinner. Though he wasn't supposed to be late." She admonished.

"You know what happened, Val. Or I'm sure you can guess, anyway."

"Who was it this time? Robert or Andreas?"  
"Robert this time." Dero spotted the confused look in my eyes. "He had an idea at the very last minute and we couldn't really leave until it had been thought through properly. It was actually a pretty good one too." His dark eyes glittered and I tried my hardest not to blush when he smiled at me again. _He's married, Kirsten. He's married, he's married, he' s married._ After clearing my throat, I finally found my voice.

"So you're working on the next CD, then?"  
"That's right."

Valeria passed me a plate of casserole and salad.

"Val tells me you speak six languages, but she didn't say which."

"I don't think I told her," I suddenly realized. "Anyway, I speak English and German obviously."

Dero put up two fingers.

"Norwegian, Russian, French, and Arabic."

Dero's fingers read six.

"So what's the one you're currently working on?"  
"Italian. Quite a bit easier than the others. Though languages may be one of those things where the more you know, the easier it gets," I said thoughtfully.

"That's an unusual combination of languages. What do you do with them all?" He sounded impressed.  
Smiling, I replied, "I do my job. I'm a translator at the United States Embassy. I've also worked for the Peace Corps and Red Cross. Also had a brief stint with Greenpeace."  
"Wow. That was…not the answer that I was expecting."  
"It usually isn't. Most people think that I'm just learning all these languages as some kind of deranged hobby." I rolled my eyes. "Course, I love languages _and_ learning new ones, so it kind of is a hobby for me."

"Sounds like the perfect job for you then."

"Yep." _Can you believe my luck? Accidentally moving in across the street from Dero Goi! I may DIE of shock. _Suddenly starving, I took a hearty bite of the salad.

The four of us slipped into a comfortable silence as we ate. It took me a few minutes to realize that there was no meat in the casserole.

"Oh, that's right! You're a vegetarian!" I clapped my hand over my mouth, embarrassed.

Dero only laughed. "That's right. It doesn't really surprise me that you know that. I don't exactly try to hide it."

"Doesn't mean I needed to yell," I mumbled in English, without thinking about the fact that they could understand every word. Mathias sniggered across the table.

"I think this is the most fun I've ever had meeting one of your fans, Dad. This one's different from the others."

"How so?" I asked.

"You actually have a brain in your head. I've met _way_ too many screaming fangirls for my taste. If I'd known you were a fan, I'm not sure I would've come tonight. Guess it's a good thing they decided to leave that little tidbit out."

"What did they tell you?"

"Only that you're new to the area and American."

Nodding my head, I continued eating. The four of us sat in near silence, the only sound being the clinking of utensils.


	3. The Requisite Phone Call Home

When I got back to my house that night, I leaned against my closed front door and slowly slid down to sit on the welcome mat. I just sat there, eyes bugged up, shaking my head for several minutes. I glanced at my watch. It was just after 7:30, which meant that it was just after noon back home. Jumping off the floor, I ran to my phone and started dialing with shaking fingers. The phone rang five times before my sister picked up.

"Hello?"

"Hey! It's Kirsten. You will notBELIEVE who I just met!"

"What? Who?"

"Dero Goi!" I screeched and cleared my throat.

"Wait…what? THE Dero Goi?" Her voice was riddled with suspicion.

"Yes! THE Dero Goi! I just had dinner with Dero Goi!" My words were rife with excitement and disbelief.

"Seriously?"

"Seriously. I thought you should be the first person to know."

"Wow. I'm….jealous."  
"Understandable," I laughed.

"So what was he like? I demand details."

"Well, he was just how I'd imagined. Very friendly and smiley. He was genuinely impressed when I told him why I speak six languages. I am not ashamed to admit that this night has pretty much validated my entire existence," I answered seriously.

I could almost hear her eyes rolling. "Like you need Dero Goi to validate your existence. You're a friggin' humanitarian."

"True," I laughed. "Perhaps that was an exaggeration."

"Okay. So you just had dinner with everyone's favorite German. How the HELL did that happen?"

"I must say, I've missed your potty mouth," I teased.

"Are you going to answer the question? Or do I have to fly to Germany to find out?"

"Oh right. Well, it was Serendipity," And I recounted everything that had happened yesterday and today.

"Wow. Just…wow."

"Iknowright?" I said in a rush.

"So his last name is Gottlieb?"  
"Yep. He told me that Goi is an abbreviation of it. Rather clever, I thought."

She fell silent a moment then said suddenly, "Can I come live with you?"

We both laughed.

"And what would your husband say?"

She snorted.

"So you said that their son is about your age. Is he attractive?" My sister asked suggestively.

"Well, of course he is. It would have been a genetic abnormality for him to turn out differently. Valeria is just as drop-dead gorgeous as Dero."

"I find that last bit hard to believe," Andrea joked.

"Hmm…True. Nobody's as good looking as Dero. Anyway. I should probably let you get back to work, huh?"

"I suppose you should. Though now I know I need to ask for some time off. Got to go visit my sister in Germany, eh?" In my head, her eyebrows were waggling. They probably were in real life, too. Laughing at the image, I said farewell and we hung up. Then I collapsed on the couch, still in shock and contemplating the fact that Mathias really had been _very_ good looking.


	4. Meeting the Boys

The next morning I was wandering around the house, still in my pajamas, when the doorbell rang. Setting down a box of cereal, I went to answer it. I immediately wished that I were wearing proper clothes, as it was Dero and Mathias that stood on the stoop.

"Guten Morgen," we said to each other.

"What are you doing here?" I crossed my arms over my chest and wished that I had at least brushed my hair.

"We thought we'd come over and help you unpack. If you still have more to do. But, we uh, thought you'd be dressed by now," Mathias answered. He glanced at his watch and his eyebrows rose.

Laughing uncomfortably, I explained. "Stayed up a bit late. I'm a night person you see, and it seems like the only time that I'm ever able to do any decent writing is in the dead of night."

"Writing?" Dero asked with renewed interest.

"Didn't I mention?"

They both shook their heads.

"Right." I moved out of their way and shut the door behind them. "Well, I'm a writer. It's my second job, I guess. I write my own stuff mostly, but I'm also occasionally asked to translate things for various publishing companies."

"And you've been published, I take it?"

"Yes. I have a copy of my book somewhere…" I snapped my fingers when I remembered where it was. Holding up one finger, I asked them to wait a second then ran into the library to fetch it. Carrying it lovingly in my hands, I returned to where they were standing. "Here it is."

Dero took the book from me and stared at the cover.

"I've read this. Several times," they both looked up at me. "You _wrote _this?"

My voice suddenly gone again, I could only nod. _They've read my book!_

"You're impressing me more and more, the longer I know you."

Cheeks turning bright red, I took the book from them and set it gently on the coffee table.

"You probably want to get dressed, huh? We can wait, if you like. Unless you don't have any more unpacking to do."

"Well, I'm almost done. But uh, I was thinking about going out on the town this morning. I'd love some company."

"Here's an idea," said Dero. "How about I introduce to Crap and Flux? I told them about you and that you were coming over for dinner last night. I'm supposed to let them know how it goes.

"That sounds great. I'd love to meet them." I resisted doing a jig as I sauntered down the hall to get dressed.

The drive to OOMPH!'s private studio was surprisingly short. Crap and Flux had agreed to meet us there, but we arrived first. Mathias had come with us, which surprised Dero for some reason. Mathias mumbled something in German that I couldn't catch and Dero shrugged it off.

Crap and Flux arrived together and Dero introduced them to me by their first names.

"Es freut mich Sie kennenzulernen."

Settled on a bunch of squishy chairs and couches, we conversed amicably about…everything. The guys seemed very interested in my opinion on a whole slew of political topics. They thought I might be able to bring new light to some issues that they had been concerned about. Something about me being an American and working in politics. I pointed out that I've never been the most traditional American. They found that really funny for some reason.

Eventually, the conversation turned to music, as it was wont to do.

"Do you play any instruments?"

"A couple. I don't get the chance to practice most of them. But, the one that I do practice quite often is organ."

Robert seemed to be about to laugh; Andreas had his eyes shut and a silly grin plastered on his face.

"What?"

"You play the organ." It wasn't a question, I just shrugged my shoulders.

"That's not an easy instrument to learn," explained Mathias.

"Well, no."

"Are you any good?"

"Yes. Yes, I am."

All four of them looked at each other, as if deciding something.

"Would you be willing to play for us?"

My mouth hung open as I stared at them. A small, disgruntled laugh left my lips and I was sure my eyes were going to pop out of my head.

"Play for you?"

They must have heard the fear in my voice, because Andreas hurriedly told me that I didn't have to. Chewing my lip, I mulled it over.

"You know what? I will play for you. I haven't anything to lose. So why not?"

"Prima!"

"But uh, unless you have an organ hidden somewhere, we'll have to go back to my place to use mine."

"Fine with us."

My hands shook ever so slightly as I unlocked my door and let them all in.

"Didn't you just move in?"

"Yes." The question confused me.

"Where are all the boxes?"

"Most of them are in the recycling by now."

Flux's hand struck Dero abruptly in the chest. Dero slapped him back and rubbed the spot, apparently sore.

"She recycles."

"Of course I do? I believe I mentioned my brief stint with Greenpeace?"

"Oh right." Flux's brow scrunched up as though he still found that really odd.

"Organ's back here." I led them down the hall to what I think was supposed to be an office. But, since I wrote in the library across the hall, the office had been turned into my music room. There was a simple, but beautiful pipe organ that took most of the room and also my old glockenspiels, snare drum, and violin. A cupboard stood by the door, in which I stored my music and organ shoes.

"Right. Um…What should I play?"

"What can you play?"

"Lots of things." Tapping my finger on my lips, I pondered my choices. Smiling mischievously, I pulled out a stack of handwritten sheet music from the cupboard. I yanked off my tennis shoes and slipped quickly into my organ shoes before sliding onto the bench. Then, I began to play. It didn't take long for Dero to gasp in recognition.  
"Holy shit, that's one of ours!"

Merely nodding, I continued to play through the medley I had arranged. When I reached the end, I was greeted by raucous applause.

"You really like it?" I asked as I turned to look at them all.

"It's genius! But how did you manage to do that without any sheet music to reference?"

"A heck of a lot of work, a lot of trial and error, and a lot of determination."

"I can imagine. Or rather, I can't. That's gotta be the most flattering thing any fan has ever done for us."

The red color returned to my face, it was starting to feel as though I would turn that color permanently.

"Speaking of fans," Andreas glanced at the time, "We should probably get going if we want to get anything done today."

Dero, Crap, and Flux left, but Mathias hung back until they'd gone. He stood awkwardly in my living room. It seemed like he was deciding on the proper way to say something, as he kept opening and closing his mouth. Finally, he spoke, in English, which surprised me.

"Would you like to go out with me sometime?"

"You mean on a date?"

He nodded emphatically.

"Sure. That sounds great."

Mathias flashed a delighted and perfect grin, and I was reminded of his father.

"Does tonight work for you? Say, six o'clock?"

"Sounds perfect." Mathias left then and I walked unsteadily to my couch. Looking at the clock and doing the math in my head, I saw that it was far too early to call my sister. _Guess I'll call her after the date. Date. With Dero Goi's son. Holy fuck. _


	5. Date Night

**Date Night**

I was standing in my room, staring at the contents of my closet and feeling a little foolish. _All these clothes and nothing to wear._ Rolling my eyes at myself, I pulled out a dress, then immediately put it back. My hand moved toward a purple top, but I pulled it back.

_You're being absurd, Kirsten, _a little voice nagged in my head. As if I didn't already know. _Just because he's good looking, you've suddenly turned into a ridiculous little girl that can't decide what to wear._

_Ha! Like you'd be any different in my situation. Oh my god, I'm arguing with myself. I'm going daffy. I always knew this day would come. _

Finally making a decision, I pulled out an outfit and laid it out on the bed. I still had plenty of time to get ready so I went to take a shower.

Mathias arrived exactly at six. He'd brought flowers, which was touchingly traditional. Unless you count getting a corsage from my prom date, I'd never been given flowers by a guy before. And **never** from a guy like Mathias. My prom date was…actually, I'd rather not talk about it. Moving on.

After I'd put the flowers in a vase on the coffee table, we stepped outside together and I saw that Mathias had arrived on a motorcycle. When we got closer, it occurred to me that the bike seemed strangely familiar.

"Mathias, this isn't your father's bike is it?"  
"It is. How'd you know that?"  
"As a teenager, I wasted a lot of time on Youtube. And a lot of what I watched involved Dero singing to his motorcycle."

Mathias snorted and shook his head, seemingly amused.

"You have no idea what it was like growing up the son of Dero Goi."

"You're quite right. I really haven't."

"Anyway, Dad let me borrow her for the night."

"That was nice of him."

Mathias smiled slyly and mounted the Harley. He handed me a helmet as he pulled on his own. Suddenly feeling very glad that I had decided to wear pants rather than a skirt, I climbed on behind him and wrapped my arms around him. He told me to hold on tight as he started the engine and we took off down the street.

We went to dinner and a movie then to a bar for a nightcap. I just had a wine cooler, as beer has never been my thing. German beer may be better than American, but I just can't get past the fact that beer is essentially rotten grain. _Gross._ Mathias took me home then, and I invited him inside.

Discussing the finer points of the movie as we sat on my couch, we soon found ourselves sitting quite close together. I could smell his cologne, it wasn't particularly strong, but it was a pleasant musk that hung in the air. The conversation suddenly died when he pushed my hair back and ran his thumb over my jaw. Mathias had his father's brown eyes; I suddenly found myself captured by his gaze. For a few minutes, we just sat in silence, sizing each other up. Slowly, Mathias leaned in and pressed his lips gently against mine. It was a very chaste kiss, but it was somehow full of fireworks. I half expected a dramatic movie score to start playing in the background. The conversation started up again, but my hand now rested in his. He didn't leave until almost midnight, when he suddenly realized that he needed to return his father's bike. Otherwise, Dero and Valeria might get "ideas." We kissed again, just as chaste as the first time, and he left.

I considered calling my sister, she would love to hear all about what had happened, but I decided against it. Instead, I decided to sleep on it and figure out exactly how I felt about Mathias before calling Andrea. She'd nag me for delaying, but I wasn't sure what to tell her just yet.


	6. Fun With Rabbits

**Fun With Rabbits**

Dero showed up alone the next day, late enough that I was fully dressed. I couldn't help but wonder if he had done that on purpose. He seemed perfectly cheerful as he strode across the threshold and into my living room.

"I'm surprised you aren't at the studio today."  
"It's a Saturday. We don't work on Saturdays."

"Ah." I nodded, wondering why he had decided to visit this time.

"So how was the date?" _Oh. That's why._

"It was good. Thank you for lending your bike to Mathias. I am not ashamed to admit that I've always wanted to ride it."

"You have, have you?"

Smiling, I nodded.

"Yep."

"Would you like to ride it again?"

Giving him a sideways look, I asked, "What do you mean?"

"Well, it's a gorgeous day. Perfect weather for riding around the countryside. I was wondering if you might like to accompany me."

"Wouldn't you rather take Valeria?"

Dero laughed, "Valeria's absolutely terrified of motorcycles."

"I'm sorry to hear that. They really are loads of fun to ride."  
"So you'll come?" His voice sounded hopeful.

"Sure. Let me just grab a jacket."  
Jacket in hand, I followed Dero outside and locked the door. At the curb, he handed me the same helmet I had used the night before and I strapped it around my chin. Dero mounted his bike gracefully and waited for me to slip on behind him to wrap my arms tightly around his waist. He revved the engine and we zipped away and into the street.

Dero and I were laying on a grassy hill outside Wolfsburg. The sky was a crisp and perfect blue, filled with twisting clouds. The two of us were pointing out shapes in the cottony clouds to each other. We were laying pretty close together and I kept having to remind myself that he was married. Dero's shoulder brushed mine has he pointed out a perfect rabbit directly overhead. I giggled to myself. Dero turned his head to look at me with one eyebrow raised.

"What's so funny?"

"Oh god. Don't make me say."

"Okay. Now you have to explain."

"Beim ersten mal tut's immer weh. The behind the scenes video."

He seemed to have to think about it for a moment, then he laughed too.

"Your memory must be infallible to remember that all these years later."

"Not infallible. But, well…It's Oomph!-related so…"

My voice faded away and it took me a moment to find it again.

"You guys have been my favorite band since Senior year of high school. I've loved your music so long, it's just become ingrained into my identity. Anybody who knows me at all knows that ya'll are my favorite. I mean, just look how long it took for Valeria to find out. Five minutes?"

Dero watched me thoughtfully as I spoke, but he didn't say anything at first.

"I told you that I've read your book multiple times, didn't I?"

"Yes, you did."

Instead of saying more, he just rolled up the left sleeve of his shirt. I looked down at the tattoos that incased his arm and saw one that he'd apparently gotten fairly recently, as I'd never seen it before. My brow scrunched up involuntarily as I realized what it was.

"Dero, that's from my book. It's the family crest of one of my characters." I knew what I saw and I knew what I was saying, but I didn't believe it.

"That's right. Your book had an effect on me too."

"I'm a little bit speechless."

He smiled, "That's how I felt yesterday, when you played the organ for us. Robert really was speechless, you may have noticed."

"All I did was play some music. I mean you…you tattooed yourself in honor of my writing! That's…I don't even know what that is."

Shaking my head slightly, I turned my face back to the heavens and tried to hide the moistness of my eyes. Dero squeezed my hand and I sniffed.

Dero took me home by a long, scenic route. It had been some time since I had just driven around the German countryside, so I decided to enjoy myself. It surprised me a little, just how easily I was getting used to spending time with Dero. In the past, I never would have thought such a thing was possible. The years had promoted to almost legendary status in my head. The first time I went to an Oomph! concert, I'd left feeling drunk and high, even though I hadn't touched even a drop of alcohol that night. I couldn't understand just how easy it was to be friends with him. _An extension of his coolness, perhaps?_

Dero walked me up to my house and came inside with me. He seemed reluctant to leave for some reason, so I offered him a drink. He turned it down, but still he didn't leave. Instead, he just stood there twirling his baseball cap in his hands.

"Are you alright, Dero?"

"Hmm? Oh, fine. I'm fine. There's just something I want to ask you. And I really don't know how to ask."

I waited patiently for him to continue.

"Kirsten, how would you feel about appearing on the next Oomph! CD?"

My eyes shut and my hands flew up. _Did I hear that right? _I cleared my throat to prevent my voice from squeaking.

"Appearing?"

"Being featured on a song."

"For what?"

"Organ."

"Organ. Seriously?" And my voice squeaked.

"Seriously. I understand if you don't want to. It's just a request. Your playing really impressed me and the guys. Anyway, just think about. We won't be offended if you say no."

"What's there to think about? Of course, I'd love to be on an Oomph! CD."

Dero's face split into a wide grin. "Really? You really mean that?"

"Of course I mean it. Just tell me the time and place; I will totally be there."

"Ausgezeichnet!" _Good lord, his smile's infectious._


	7. To the Studio!

**To the Studio!**

"So this week has been kinda life-changing," I half-shouted into the phone.

"What happened now?"

"A couple things. I went on a date last night, with Dero Goi's son. Then today, I rode with Dero around the German countryside and learned that he's pretty much my biggest fan. Then Dero asked me if I would like to appear on the next Oomph! CD."

"…What?"

I repeated myself, even though I was pretty sure my sister had heard every word.

"You're not kidding."  
"No, I'm not. Like I said, kinda life-changing."

"Only kinda?" Andrea's voice drawled with sarcasm.

"Not the point."

"What else do you expect me to say?"  
"No idea. Just thought you should know, as I'm kinda flipping out a little bit."

"Pretty sure that's normal…So how was the date?"

"It was good?"

"Is that a question?"  
"Maybe? I don't know. It was fun and the good-night kiss was amazing, but, I don't know. There's something. Or maybe it's that there isn't something. I have no idea."

"Could you at least attempt to make sense?"

"I can certainly try. No idea if I'll actually succeed." I took a deep breath before continuing. "Mathias is extremely attractive. He's intelligent and has a _great_ laugh. For all intents and purposes, he should be my type. But, it feels like he isn't. There were definite sparks when we kissed and I feel truly comfortable with him. But, I don't think I'm attracted to him. It doesn't even make sense to _me_."

"Too bad Dero's married, eh?"

"That's been the standing opinion for years."

I sighed into the receiver and rubbed my eyebrows thoughtfully.

"You're getting to be pretty good friends with these guys aren't you?"

"Yes, I think so…You know what I just realized?"

"What did you just realize?"

"Dero was speaking to me with the informal 'you' earlier."

"You'll forgive me if I don't know what that means."

"Probably nothing, but you usually don't use the informal you with someone if you aren't good friends."

"Well, that answers that."

"Yeah," My voice was wistful.

"Listen, I have to get back to work. But, I'm meeting with my boss later to ask about time off. Is there a time that works best for you?"

"Pretty much any time works. I set my own hours."

"True. So I'll talk to you later with more information."

"K. Bye."

"Auf Wiederhören," and she hung up before I could respond to her sudden use of German.

Two days later, Dero came knocking at my door. _And he brought opportunity with him._

"Ready to go?"

"As ready as I'll ever be."

I drove the both of us to the studio. Apparently, he just wanted to ride for a bit. He gave me directions since I'd only been there once before and I hadn't been the one driving. Wasn't all that hard to find really, as close as it was.

This time, when we walked through the front door, I paid closer attention to what all was in the room. There were multiple keyboards and a couple of synthesizers. Four guitars were sitting in a small group. A drum set was sitting inside what looked like a plastic box with a mike pointed at it.

"Hmmm…"

"Yes?"

"I was just thinking, you guys don't have an organ. And they aren't particularly easy to move, even if my organ were of really good quality, which it isn't."

"It isn't?"

"Well, it's a pretty good practice organ. But, its sound is pretty limited. And it doesn't even have a full pedalboard."

I chewed my lip as I thought about it and Dero tapped his finger against his wallet chain. Flux and Crap walked in then, immediately reading our expressions as thoughtfully problematic.

"Contemplating the organ issue?"

"Ja."

"Andreas thought of a temporary solution."

Crap interjected, "Keyboards. Kirsten can use one of the other keyboards during the composition phase, practice on her own organ, and hopefully by the time we need to record we'll have found a proper organ to use in the studio."  
All three looked at me for my opinion.

"Sounds good to me. There's a few people I want to ask about possibly borrowing an organ. Not that organs are the sort of thing you borrow..."

"If it comes down to it, we'll buy one."

My eyebrows disappeared into my hairline.  
"I know what you're thinking. They're not cheap. Strictly last resort." Andreas and Robert beamed.

"Right. Well, should we get to it then?" _Not that I have the faintest idea where to start or even what they have in mind._

Robert moved over to some manner of equipment that I couldn't actually name and started fiddling around with the dials.

Dero explained, "We have this song. We've been working on it for a while, but we can't seem to finish it. No matter what we do to it, the song always feels like it's missing something. Something vital. That's where you come in. After hearing you play the other day, we all realized exactly what was needed to finish the song. Robert's going to play what we have so far. It's still rough, obviously, but it should give you a pretty good idea."

"Fire away, Robert."

A simple melody began to pump out of the speakers, but the build came on strong and fast. A flowing, synthetic harmony appeared, and suddenly Dero's gorgeous voice washed over me like an old friend. The song was in German, so it's meaning wasn't immediately obvious to me. Even after all these years, it still took me at least a couple listens to understand their German songs.

The tune faded away and all three men looked at me expectantly.

"It's beautiful. Even unfinished, it reminds exactly why I fell in love with you guys."

Their faces split into radiant grins.

"Anyway, pick a keyboard and I'll grab you the sheet music."

Andreas walked over to a table and started shuffling through a stack of paper.

Feeling a little awkward, I strode over to the group of keyboards. I placed one hand on the closest, then just stood looking at them.

Andreas chuckled as he walked up to me.

"I would recommend that one for your purposes." He pointed to one in particular and I smiled in thanks as I took the music from him.

As I took a seat behind one the keyboard and powered it up, I felt it necessary to say, "Not sure if this was clear, but I've never composed anything before in my life. I arranged that medley, but that's it."

"We figured. But don't worry about it. We've got lots of experience."

Andreas winked at me.

"I've noticed. Between the three of you, you'd put Bach to shame. With the amount you've written, at least."

"Amount would be it. Bach is…well he's Bach."

"He is indeed," I responded, laughing.

And the work commenced.


	8. Incoming Calls

**Incoming Calls**

I was standing in my bedroom, fumbling mindlessly with my buttons. This week. This **week. **It was proving to be far too much. My poor little heart was about to burst from the never-ending shock that seemed to follow me everywhere I went this week.

Giving up on my shirt, I dropped onto my bed and stared at a blank spot on the wall. My mind reeled from the possibilities. From the implications. I had pretty much made up my mind that I wasn't going to be pursuing a relationship with Mathias. He'd called me after I got home from the studio. Just wanted to chat, he said. But, as it was wont to do, the conversation veered off to a discussion of possible future dates. I told him I'd think about it. In my heart, I knew that the only thing I had to think about was exactly how to tell him that the relationship wouldn't be continuing. I just wasn't interested in him. Maybe I could have followed through with it, just to see if more time would make a difference. But, I've never done that before. _So why start now?_

A few minutes after getting off the phone with Mathias, it rang again. Grabbing the kitchen phone, I announced my name, expecting it to be my sister or somebody from work. The voice that greeted me surprised me.

"Tag, Kirsten. Er ist Andreas."

"Tag, Andreas. Wie geht's?"

"I'm glad you're home. I considered speaking to you while you were at the studio, but I wanted to talk to you without Dero and Robert hearing."

"Alright. What can I do for you?"

His response damn near made me drop the phone.

"I'm calling to ask you out on a date."

Choking into the receiver, I tightened my grip on the receiver.

"You are?"

My brain refused to come up with any kind of logical response.

"Yes."

He seemed to be waiting patiently for a response.

"Can I think about it?"

"Of course, take all the time you need."

He gave me his phone number and we hung up. After that, I wandered drunkenly into my bedroom.

Falling back on the bed, I stared without seeing at the ceiling. The doorbell rang, but I didn't hear it. The sound reached me the second time that it rang. Shoving off the bed, I skidded down the hall and stubbed my toe when I tripped over the throw rug. Cursing at myself for not moving it, I answered the door.

Valeria was standing there, a casserole in her hands. I moved out of the her way and she entered, as I asked her about the casserole.

"Made too much," she said simply. "It's vegetarian, but I'm sure you could guess that."  
"Oh. Well, thanks." I carried it to the kitchen and stuck it into the fridge next to the milk.

Valeria was twiddling her thumbs on the couch when I returned to the front room. One eyebrow rose involuntarily, but I sat next to her. She clearly had something to say, if her furrowed brow was any kind of indication. Not knowing how to lead into the conversation for her, I just waited silently.

"How was the session today?"

"It was good. It was fun. They're great guys. I'm learning a lot about music from them."

Sensing that this was not the heart of the issue, I waited again.

"What about your date with Mathias?"

_Concerned parents. Eesh._ "It was very nice. Mathias is really quite nice."

Valeria's gaze, as she peered at me through her lashes, gave me the feeling of being thoroughly x-rayed. I grew uncomfortably and fidgety under her piercing stare.

"That's what I thought."  
"What?"  
"Mathias is a good boy. And you're a good girl. But you don't mesh. He's not your type."

A small, singular laugh escaped me.

"You already suspected?"

"Yes. You're the type of girl that listens to my husband's music. You wear dark eyeliner and you like motorcycles. You're talented and intelligent, a lover of books. Mathias isn't your type. Truth be told, Dero's probably more your type. But, he's taken."

Valeria winked and I laughed uncomfortably.

"Nothing to be ashamed of. You're hardly the first girl to be attracted to him, and you won't be the last."

Valeria patted my hand with a motherly air. Then, she flipped her hair and her whole manner changed.

"So. Has Andreas asked you out yet?"

"How'd you know _that?_"

"Dero mentioned it."

"Oh. Well, yes. I just got off the phone with him not too long ago."

"And did you say yes?"

"I didn't say no…"

"Say yes. Andreas might actually be your type."

"O-okay. Thank you."

Valeria stood up, smiling like a schoolgirl.

"Time for me to head out. And don't worry about Mathias. I'll take care of it. You just enjoy your date with Andreas."

She winked and walked with me muttering a quiet thanks.


	9. Care to Drive?

**Care to Drive?**

He showed up on a motorcycle. _Of course. _He also asked if I wanted to try driving it. I simply stared at him, agape.

"What?" Andreas asked, puzzled by my confounded expression.

"Do I want to drive?"

"Do you?"

"Of course I do! It's been ages since I got to drive a motorcycle."  
"You've driven one before?"  
"Yep. Used to have one. Had to sell it when I moved over here. Would've cost too much to get it shipped here. I was definitely sorry to see it go."

My hand moved lovingly over the handle of his bike.

"That's settled then." Andreas passed me a helmet and slipped on his own. "For some strange reason, I thought you'd be terrified to drive it."

"Why would I be afraid to drive?"

"Your size."

"Hmm…Yes." I raked my eyes over his stately form. "Compared to you, I'm something of a midget."

His blue eyes crinkled when he smiled. I climbed easily onto the bike, Andreas slipped on behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist. _Oh look, he smells amazing too._ Rolling my eyes at my own thoughts, I asked him where we were headed.

"Die Bäckerei auf Goethestraße."

"Sounds good."

The engine revved and we took off down Balkenweg.

We ate dinner at Bäckerei Leifert, then Andreas took the helm. The motorcycle carried us outside town and through a forest. Andreas turned down a dark country road and followed it deeper into the trees. The bike slowed and pulled onto the grass next to the road. I climbed off and removed my helmet, not sure what we were doing there. Andreas stowed our helmets, took my hand, and led me to a forest path. Now I knew why he had told me to wear sensible shoes. I just went with the flow as I followed Andreas deeper into the forest. Finally, we reached a clearing in the trees, which was apparently our destination.

"There's a meteor shower tonight, I don't know if you heard."

"Really? No, I hadn't heard that."

"I like coming here to watch showers and eclipses. It's far enough from the city that you get a great view of the stars on clear nights. And the sky always seems to be clear."

Andreas grabbed a bag that was resting in the lower branches of an old maple tree. He pulled a blanket out of it and spread it over the ground, then he dropped down onto it and smiled for me to join him. Laying down beside him, I rested my head on my arms and watched the sky. We weren't there long before the shower began. The small flashes of silvery light that streaked across the sky were just enough to light up the clearing. Andreas' eyes didn't leave the sky until the show was over.

Andreas accompanied me inside when we got back to my place. He didn't stay long and we didn't kiss, but for me, the date felt much more successful than the date with Mathias.

_How about that? Valeria was right._


	10. Kitty, Kitty

**Kitty, Kitty**

"It's really coming down out there."

Andreas' gaze was locked on the open window and the rain that was pouring down beyond it. My eyes wandered to the window and I spoke scathingly.

"I hate Autumn rain."

"I know. It's cold and wet, just like snow. Therefore, you hate it. Just like me."

Andreas smiled down at me from his perch beside me on the couch. I leaned into his chest and he wrapped an arm around me as I lazily changed the TV channel. We had been dating for three weeks and things were going very well between us. It was a Monday, and we had had to cancel our plans for the day when the rain started. We'd been planning on going into Berlin for the day, but neither of us really felt like trudging around in the rain all day.

The TV murmured in the background, mostly ignored. The sounds of the rain were very relaxing and I was having to fight to stay awake, Andreas' musky and comforting scent making the task all the more difficult. Abruptly, Andreas grabbed the remote off my lap and muted the television.

"Do you hear that?"

"What?"

"Listen."

I listened, my ears perked up for any sound. Finally I heard it, the sound of a very pitiful cat's meow. Climbing out of Anreas' embrace I moved to the front door and opened it slowly. Something moved in the bushes beside the stoop.

"Kitty, kitty?"

The animal mewed softly in response.

"Here kitty, kitty. I won't hurt you." My voice was as soft and comforting as I could make it.

Slowly but surely, the cat moved toward me out of the bushes with me offering quiet comfort and assurance. As it moved into the light spilling out from the house, I saw that it was a very small and underfed calico kitten. The tiny thing finally came close enough to sniff my proffered hand, and allowed me to pick it up. I carried it into the house. Andreas came out of the kitchen carrying a bowl of warmed milk.

"This will have to do until we can get some kitten formula from the store."

He set the bowl on the floor and I set the baby on the floor next to it. The kitten started lapping up the milk eagerly and I turned to Andreas.

"You like cats? You've never mentioned."

He shrugged. "Just hasn't come up, I guess."

Thinking back on our conversations, I accepted that this was true. Cats, or any pets, really hadn't come up at all. _Odd._

"I actually thought I'd have to use the milk to lure it out of the bushes. Didn't realize you'd be able to convince it to come out so easily."

"Years of practice," I explained. "These last few years that I've lived in Germany have been the only years in my life that I _haven't_ had a cat."

"Really? Any particular reason that you haven't?"

"Lived in an apartment until recently."

Andreas nodded slowly. We stood together, watching the kitten drink its fill. After a couple short minutes, the calico walked away and started to wash itself inexpertly.

"Poor thing. Wonder what happened to her mother."

Andreas shook his head sadly.

"I'm guessing you don't have any cat litter about?"

"Nope. Don't have any litter pans either." Glancing down at my watch, I continued. "Store's going to be open for a while yet. We should probably just go pick up some things for her."

He looked out the window disdainfully, then looked back to the kitten, who was now curling up to sleep on the rug. (The rug that had finally been moved away from the end of the hall, by Andreas, to under the window.)

"Alright. No avoiding it. I'll grab our jackets."

He walked out of the room and to the hall closet. I slipped into my shoes and donned my jacket when he handed it to me. Grabbing my keys off the coffee table, I took one last look at the calico kitten and we headed out into the piercing rain.

Later on, it would strike me as funny that there was never any discussion about whether or not we would be keeping the kitten. And there was never any discussion about _who_ would keep the kitten. Whenever we spoke of her, we simply said _our kitten._ If I had paid any attention to that, I might have realized just what it meant for our relationship.

We went a little overboard on supplies. Not only did we buy litter and a litter pan, but we also bought two kinds of formula, and three kinds of kitten food. "What if she doesn't like the first kind?" was Andreas' reasoning. We bought her matching dishes for food and water and we got several toys and a scratching post. At my suggestion, we bought catnip spray, in case the scratching post didn't immediately catch her fancy. We also bought a small staircase to be set up by my bed. As small as the kitten was, it would be a while before she'd be able to jump onto the bed.

Laden down with our purchases, we returned to my house and set up her box in the kitchen. When it was time to show her the box, we realized that she wasn't easily found. Andreas finally found her sniffing around under my bed. He had to slither underneath it on his belly in order to get her back out. She jumped right back out of the box when we set her in it, as cats usually do. We watched her slip around the corner and back into the living room, off to explore again.

"She's going to need a name."

"Sure is."

"Any ideas?"  
"Nothing particularly exciting."

"Let's give it a couple days. Shouldn't pick out a name before we know something of her personality yet, anyway."  
"Very true."

A/N I'm open to ideas for the name of the kitten. :)


	11. Cherries

**Cherries**

"Ah, my first love: Maraschino Cherries."

Andreas had a questioning look on his face, a single eyebrow near his hairline.

"A small joke, at least partially."

He placed a small kiss on the top of my head as he passed to get a drink from the fridge. I plucked another cherry from the jar and ate it.

"You may the only person I've ever known to eat those plain."

"I don't see why. They're delicious."

"Kirschrot!"

"Was?"  
"How about naming the kitten Kirschrot?"

"Maybe…" The kitten came strolling into the kitchen at that moment. She sat and looked at us expectantly. Putting the jar of cherries back in the fridge and cleaning my sticky fingers, I picked her up from the floor and settled her in the crook of my left arm. She purred contentedly with a dopey look in her eyes.

"Hmmm…."

"What?"

"I had an idea, but it seems too masculine."

"What's the idea?"  
"Balken. Like Balkenweg. If you hadn't moved onto this street, we probably would never have met."

"That is a good idea, but you're right. It does sound masculine."

We both stood in the kitchen watching her. Andreas reached across and scratched her slowly behind the ears. The volume of her purrs increased by a couple decibels. Glancing down at my watch, I realized that I needed to head out.

"Woops. Lost track of time. I need to get to the airport. Don't want Andrea thinking I forgot to pick her up, after all the times she's had to pick me up."

"Would it be all right if I came along? I can help with the bags and I'd like to meet your sister."

"Hmm…It might not be the best idea to spring you on her the moment she arrives, but….Well, alright."

"Klasse!"

Andrea's plane arrived late, so it didn't matter that we arrived later than we really should have done. She met us by baggage claim, as planned, but she wasn't alone. I was surprised to see that her husband, David, had come along. When they got close enough, the first thing out of my mouth was a question.

"David came too? Why didn't you mention?"

"Didn't I?"

"No."

"Huh. Must have slipped my mind."

David snorted behind her shoulder.

"Nice to know I'm appreciated," he teased.

"Oh hush up, you."

"Yes, your majesty." David bowed graciously and we all laughed. That's how Andrea noticed I wasn't alone either.

"Well, hello there."

Andreas strode forward with his hand extended.

"Andreas Copenhaver, it's very nice to meet you."

"Andrea Moore. This is my husband, David."

"Nice to meet you, David."

The two men shook hands. _Huh. I used to think David tall. Not compared to Andreas, he isn't._

"Let's get your bags. We can continue our introductions at the house."

Glad that I had managed to park close, and that there were four of us to lug the bags through the airport, we loaded everything away in my four-door pickup.

It started raining not five seconds after we'd brought the last bag into the house.

"Impeccable timing." Andreas stood looking out a window, sneering at the rain.

I led Andrea and David down the hall to the spare bedroom. It was pretty sparse, all it contained was a queen-sized bed and a dresser with a mirror. The closet wasn't particularly large, either.

"It's not much. Haven't had a chance yet to decorate it or anything."  
"Not like we'll be spending that much time in here, Kirsten."  
"Ah, but it's the social convention to devalue one's guest room."

Winking, I left the room so they could unpack.

"That car ride was strangely awkward," I said to Andreas, back in the living room.

"So it wasn't just me that felt it."

"Definitely not."

I plopped on the couch, Andreas joined me. Within minutes, the kitten had appeared in Andreas' lap. Her lamp-like, yellow eyes fixed on Andreas, as if demanding an explanation. He ran his hand down her spine and soon she was asleep. However, she darted out of the room when Andrea and David appeared at the mouth of the hall, chuckling at some private joke.

"Hey Andrea, do you have any ideas for a female cat's name?"

"Why?"

"We adopted a stray kitten a couple days ago. Haven't named her yet."

"We?"  
"We."

Andreas smiled as he responded.

"So what do we want to do today?"

"Well, I kinda figured you'd want to sleep after the flight."

"Eh. Slept on the plane."  
"Both of you?"

Andrea turned to David and he answered.

"Yep."

"Well, Valeria and Dero invited us over for dinner tonight. Speaking of, I should call Valeria to let her know that David's here as well."

Leaning across Andreas, I grabbed the phone out of its cradle and started to dial. I went into the kitchen to make my call, but I could hear Andreas making conversation.

"So, Andrea, you work in a museum, yes?"

"That's right. I organize the displays, especially when we have temporary shows. For the really big shows, I also help deal with the press and so forth."

"How about you, David? What do you do?"

"I'm an actor."

"Professionally?"

"Yep."

"So how did you two meet?"

"Kirsten introduced us. I don't know whether she thought we'd actually end up together, but she's the reason we met."

"Well, then how do you know Kirsten?"

"Went to school together in California."  
"Ah. That makes sense, doesn't it?"

Peeking around the corner as I spoke to Valeria, I saw that David nodded before replying.

"A lot of people go to the L.A. area to try and make it big. Most of them go home without success. I was one of the lucky few."

Valeria's voice carried through the receiver.

"You seem distracted."

"Sorry. I'm eavesdropping."

"Heard that," came Andreas' voice from the next room.

Laughing, I told Valeria that we would see her later.


	12. Nothing Happened

**Nothing Happened**

Hands were shook and pleasantries exchanged as soon as we walked in the door. Mathias smiled awkwardly at me, his eyes flicking over to Andreas every few seconds. I smiled apologetically at him. Dero wasn't there at first, but he came strolling in while we all still stood just inside the door. Andrea cleared her throat loudly behind me before greeting him. We had a lovely dinner, which Valeria actually let me help her with. Then we all went into the living room to talk.

The subject of conversation seemed to be a living, effervescent being. It changed rapidly and often, I soon lost track of where it had begun. At one point, we were tossing around possible names for Andreas' and my kitten. The suggestions got more and more ridiculous, until finally we were shouting the most absurd things at each other.

"Crookshanks!"

"Sekhmet!"

"Chuckles!"

"Bush Baby!"

"Sieger!"

"Danger!"

"Boo!"

"Du!"

"Fluffer McKitty!"

"Disco Fever!"

The seven of us finally burst into uncontrollable giggles. Dero wiped tears from his eyes as Valeria slapped her leg exuberantly. Mathias was the first to get control of himself. Andrea and I were the last. We were sitting next to each other; Just when one of us would almost have it, the other would start fresh, just as loud as before and the first would break down again. Andreas and David exchanged looks as they watched us. I couldn't really see what they were telling each other wordlessly, my eyes were too full of happy tears. Sighing and taking deep breaths, we finally managed to get a hold of ourselves again. Avoiding her eye and ignoring any sounds she might make, I wiped my eyes and forced myself to act like a sane human being.

"Can't take 'em anywhere, can we, David?"

The sound of Andreas' amused voice almost did me in again. Choking on my own words, I stuttered.

"S-stop it. Whew."

Andreas sniggered.

"You good? You gonna live?" Dero asked.

"I think so. You good?"

Andrea took a deep breath before answering.

"Yes. I think so. Whewee. That hasn't happened to me in a long time."  
"Not since the two of us were together the last time. In a crowded restaurant, with loads of people staring."  
"Including that poor guy who was down on his knee, ready to propose when you said whatever you said and-" Andrea broke off, breathing deeply.

"Now, don't start that again," Andreas joked.

"Shh…We might."

"I don't doubt it."  
Valeria glanced at the clock on the wall behind me. Her head tilted to the side as she contemplated its face.

"Is that really the time?"

Turing in my seat to check, then comparing the time to my watch, I confirmed that it was right.

"Yep. It really is almost three in the morning. And I, for one, am exhausted."

The Gottliebs guided us to the door. Andrea turned to say goodbye.  
"It was nice to meet all three of you. And I must say, Dero, I'm very glad my sister moved in across the street from you."

"So are we." Dero's brown eyes twinkled with sincerity and pleasure.

The rain had petered down to a light drizzle as we crossed the street to my house. Andreas accompanied us all inside, then turned to leave for his apartment.

"Don't be silly. You shouldn't drive this late at night."

My sister and her husband had, thankfully, left the room.

"You want me to stay?"

His eyes betrayed just a hint of hope.

"Of course. I'd never get any sleep, with you driving on dark, wet streets with vision blurred from exhaustion."

"Well, when you put it like that…"

A shy smile danced around the corners of my lips.

Nothing happened as we lay in bed together that night, but it was probably the best night's sleep I had ever gotten in my life.


	13. Thanksgiving?

**Thanksgiving?**

The next day as I sat in front of my computer, attempting to write, I found myself playing around with letters. I used to really enjoy making up names for the characters in my writings, and I still found myself doing it at times.

It was Tuesday morning, Andrea and David were still sleeping. Andreas had gone home to shower and change. Since I didn't know how much time I would have to myself while Andrea was visiting, I figured it would be a good idea to try and write whenever I did find the time. But, nothing story-related would come. No ideas for unbelievable plot twists could be found in the blacklight of my computer screen, so instead I played with names. There were a couple good ones, but I didn't have any characters to introduce in the book. I filed most of them away for possible later use, but a handful I wrote down to suggest as cat names.

M'sälia, Katra Dee, Rimourion, De'lei, Quurix, Byoyo, Siliri, and Vatralla were scratched out on a scrap of paper beneath Kirschrot and Balken.

It seemed a little odd to me that we were having such a difficult time naming the kitten. I could only remember one time that there had been so much difficulty in agreeing on a really good name; it was years ago and involved three people trying to agree, not just two. That cat ended up being called Nameless and she answered to Nameless for the rest of her life.

_Doesn't bode well for if we ever have kids, does it?_ Came an unbidden thought, and I blushed furiously.

_It's a little early to be thinking of kids, _I told myself silently.

The sound of the front door opening reached me in the library. Giving up on writing, I went out to the living room to greet Andreas. The bit of paper with names written on it was in my hand as I padded, sock-footed, down the hall. Andreas swept me into his arms when he saw me and his lips pressed passionately against my own. Surprised by the sudden show of affection, it took me a second to return the kiss. My lungs were strangely empty when we broke off the kiss.

"Missed you," his voice was soft and breathless.

Deciding I didn't want to spoil the moment, I remained silent and smiled instead. Andreas' fingers slid down my arm to catch my hand in his, they hesitated at the feel of paper in my grip.

"What's this?"

"Ideas," I replied brightly. "Possible cat names."

Passing the paper to his hand, I waited for him to read them over.

"Playing with letters again?"

"Course."

"Well, I like them all. Except, maybe not Rimourion."  
"Alrighty. I'll just scratch that one off. "  
"You wrote down Balken. Thought we decided it was too masculine for a female cat?"

"Eh, it's worth further thought. The name really does feel appropriate for our cat."

Andrea came down the hall at that moment, yawning.

"Don't you know what time it is?"

"Ten o'clock or so. I'm not wearing my watch."  
"Yeah, here maybe. It's the middle of the night back home."

"There's coffee in the kitchen."  
"There'd better be."

She shuffled out of the room, with David shuffling through behind her just seconds later.

"Couple of zombies."

Andreas chuckled.

"Thanksgiving is this Thursday," came a sudden realization.

"It is?"

"Yeah. I haven't had a proper Thanksgiving meal in years. Hmmm…With Andrea and David here, it might actually be worth it to do a proper feast." My eyes wandered as I contemplated everything I would have to get. "Would you like to join us? I know it's not your holiday, but it could be fun to have you there."

"Sure. I've never celebrated Thanksgiving before. Could be fun. And you know who else you should invite? Robert and Dero with their families."

"That is a very good idea."

Running out of the room, I went to make a grocery list and to call Robert and Dero with my invitation.

"I know it's pretty short notice," I said to Robert's wife, "But I'd love for you to all be here."

"Why not? Just means I don't have to cook that night. I'll bring a cake, shall I?"  
"Thanks, that would be great."

We settled on a time and I called Dero's house to ask them if they could be there. Valeria offered to bring some kind of vegetarian dish, which reminded me that I would have to keep Dero in mind as I planned the meal.

Sticking my head into the kitchen, I asked whether Andrea and David wanted to come along to the store.

Yawning and shaking their heads, they explained that they would shower and enjoy copious amounts of coffee. Andreas offered to come with me, as I thought he might.


	14. Graham Norton and Other Wonderful Things

Andrea and David were planted in the living room when Andreas and I returned from our shopping spree. David's eyes were slightly glazed, but locked on the TV.

"Try channel 33," I said as I walked past them and they both jumped. "It's an English channel. You might even enjoy it."

Andrea obligingly changed over to channel 33 and shouted gleefully at my retreating back that Graham Norton was on.

"Told you," I called back.

Andreas followed me into the kitchen to deposit the bags in his arms before heading outside to the car for more. My sister entered the room just before his return and immediately asked "why the hell" I had bought so much food. Her eyebrows creased together when Andreas retreated from the kitchen once more.

"Thought you were watching Graham Norton?"

"Commercial. So? Why so much food?"

"I'm going to cook Thanksgiving dinner this year."

"Thanksgiving in Germany?"

Our eyes locked over the pile of bread that I had just removed from a sack.

"This surprises you?"  
"Well, as it's you we're talking about…not really."

"I'm glad we understand each other."

"I'm glad we understand that you're a nut case and a half."

"Not two whole nut cases?"  
"At your height? Not ruddy likely."

"Thank you for clearing that up."  
"You're quite welcome." And she departed to rejoin David on the couch as the sound of studio applause announced the end of the commercial break.

I jumped a little when Andreas suddenly reappeared at my side.

"Why is your sister smiling so big?"  
"She always smiles like that when she's questioning my sanity."

"Ah." He muttered a sound of understanding, though his pursed lips and scrunched brow read clear confusion.

"She's my older sister. She's supposed to insult me."

"Of course she is…"

"Sometimes I forget that you're an only child. Then you have a moment similar to this one and I realize just how adorably naïve you really are."

"I don't know whether or not I should be insulted."

Reaching up, I patted him lightly on the cheek as condescendingly as I could manage. He slapped my hand away and rolled his eyes. As I turned to find a place for the turkey, he suddenly swept it out of my hands, pulled me into his arms, and kissed me passionately.

Gasping for breath I whispered, "What was that for?"

"I can't show affection to the woman I love?"

_Woman he loves? _My breath caught in my throat and my heart stopped. Andreas brushed a lock of hair behind my ear absently in a move that felt almost cliché.

"Love?"

His blue eyes were carefully steady as they locked onto my own.

"Yes. Love. I love you, Kirsten."

A few seconds felt like an hour while I worked up the nerve to breathe and reply.

"I love you too."

He beamed down at me.


	15. The Name Game

"That cat seriously needs a name, Andreas."

The kitten in question stalked out of the room after finding her food dish empty.

"Yeah…"

"Eeny meeny miney mo?"

"Is that English?"

"Close enough."

The list of possible names was held onto the fridge by a magnet in the shape of the Brandenburg Gate. Pulling it down and laying it on the counter, I then proceeded to use a highly sophisticated, ages-old method of selection.

"Eeny meeny miney mo, catch a tiger by his toe. If he hollers, make him pay, fifty dollars every day. My mother told me to pick the very best one and you are not it, you dirty, dirty dishrag you." My finger stopped on Vatralla and I crossed it out. Continuing with that process, I was finally left with only Balken that was not crossed out.

"There. It's settled. Her name is Balken."

Andreas gave me a bemused look before walking out of the kitchen. He returned with our little calico girl in his arms.

"Welcome to the family, Balken."

A/N Apologies about the long wait. This part was actually done a while ago, and uploaded to dA. I just forgot to put it over here. Chapter 16 is in the works. Writer's block is a bitch and a half. x.x


	16. Giving Thanks

**Giving Thanks**

_It's nine o'clock on a Saturday, the regular crowd shuffles in. There's an old man sitting next to me, making love to his tonic and gin. He says, "Son can you play me a memory? I'm not really sure how it goes, but it's sad and it's sweet and I knew it complete, when I wore a younger man's clothes." Sing us a song, you're the piano man. Sing us a song tonight. Well, we're all in the mood for a melody, and you've got us feeling alright. _

The pounding on the door brought me back to reality as I danced around the house with a broom. I pulled it open to find Andreas with his fist hanging in midair, ready to pound again.

"Sorry. Didn't hear the bell. I was blasting Billy Joel."  
"Billy Joel?"

"Billy Joel."

"You, my dear, are one odd duck."

"Ah, but that's why you love me."

Blue eyes twinkling, he smiled down at me and replied.

"I love you for many, many reasons."

"Stop it! You're making me blush."

"No, I'm not. And no, I won't."

"Fine. Don't stop. Just get your cute behind in the kitchen, where it belongs."

My finger pointed him on his way.

"Oh ho! Where it belongs? Is that a slur?"

"Ja. Los. Jetzt."

He ambled toward the kitchen.

"Scnell, schnell!"

Laughing, he picked up the pace. Soon I could hear him whistling to himself as he checked the condition of the roasting turkey.

Thanksgiving dinner was a raging success. Dero got a wee bit tipsy and said all sorts of outrageous things that I won't repeat, for his sake. Robert's wife is now one of my all-time favorite people and probably the best cook I've ever met. As promised, she brought a carrot cake and it was better than any carrot cake anywhere. Ever. You don't understand the amazing quality of this cake. It was just _that_ good.

This was the first time I had ever made turkey without any guidance from a parental figure, so it was a very gratifying experience when everybody (except that silly vegetarian) enjoyed it. As everybody was heading out for the night, Dero gave a deep bow, nearly stumbled, and announced that my cooking was "fantastisch." A good night, that only got even better.

Andrea and David decided to go out on the town and explore. I was hesitant to let them wander around a foreign country on their own, but Andrea pulled the older sister card and my argument fell upon deaf ears.

And I was alone with my love once more.

I was elbow-deep in dish water when he came up behind me and slipped his arms around my waist. Leaning into his chest, I continued washing the dishes. Then, quite suddenly, I felt his teeth tracing my neck as his hands ran up my sides. My breath caught in my throat as he turned me to face him and planted a passionate kiss on my lips. With gentle care, his hands slid into the back of my shirt. His strong guitarist hands rubbed all over my skin and sent goose-bumps down my arms. His mouth sought out my collar bone, which he gently nibbled. The dishes forgotten, he pulled me down the hall to the bedroom.

And the rest of the night passed with sensuous pleasure.


	17. Late for Work

Skin against skin, I awoke the next morning in Andreas' arms. My mind felt foggy and it took me a moment to realize what had happened. Shifting my position a little, I was able to look up into Andreas' face. He was already awake and simply smiled down at me.

"Guten Morgen." The words fell out of my mouth and I immediately felt silly.

"Guten Morgen, mein Schatz. Wie geht's?"

"…Satisfied." I smiled and snuggled back into his chest. Andreas chuckled and started to run his fingers up and down my spine.

"We should probably get up and get dressed. I need to be at the studio later today and I'll have to go home and change first."

"Mmm. Too comfy."  
"We can stay here a little while longer."

With much hesitation I whispered, "Andreas, maybe you should start keeping some of your things here. You're here so much…"

I felt his heart skip a beat. "Maybe I should."

Pulling myself out of his arms, I straddled his lap and planted a slow kiss on his lips.

"Ich liebe dich, Andreas."

He fidgeted beneath me. "Kirsten…you're gonna make me late…"

"You _know_ they'll understand. Hell, they'll probably congratulate you." I couldn't help but laugh at the mental image.

Andreas eyed me suspiciously.

"What?"

In answer, he abruptly changed our positions so that he was on top, smiling deviously.

It was my turn to feel suspicious. "What's with the look?"

Andreas' teeth nipped at my ear and his hands ran over my belly and across my breasts. A shiver ran down my back as his lips pressed fiercely against my own. His tongue explored my lips and I responded eagerly. My hands sought his hair and I clutched it tightly, pulling him into a deeper kiss. Andreas' growing arousal was apparent as he gracefully separated my thighs with his knee. His right hand left my breast and tantalizing slid down my body.

"Shall we?" He almost purred into my ear.

"You have to ask?"

Andreas was most certainly late.


End file.
